Dick Hearns: The Mayo Team

Dick Hearns had played Gaelic Football with his native County Mayo  for a couple of seasons before retiring from the game at 25 to concentrate on his boxing career. By then he had played football for Roscommon, Cork, Longford, Donegal and Dublin during his years with An Garda Síochána which he had joined in 1928 at the age of 21. When Mayo won their first All-Ireland Senior Football Championship in 1936 against Laois, Dick Hearns was the man who had put them through their paces and trained them. The Sam Maguire Cup was presented to Mayo team captain, Seamus O'Malley, having been presented to Kildare in 1928 for the first time after defeating Cavan in the All Ireland Final of that year. Mayo won the trophy again in 1950 and in 1951.